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Badlands Pawn opens Thanksgiving Day. The pawn shop, concert venue, tattoo parlor and firing range is notable not just for its gaudy ambition. It's also the first significant development to go up near the city's year-old event center.

In a part of town dubbed the sports and entertainment district, the biggest capital investment in city history has done little so far to spur development. The area, about a mile and a half northwest of downtown, still lacks energy between big events — which are coming with more frequency.

But the city's long-term vision of a lively neighborhood filled with bars and restaurants, retail, hotels and mixed-use developments has been slow to materialize.

"It's not the big thing going up. It's the only thing going up," Badlands Pawn founder Chuck Brennan said of his $20 million entertainment complex. "Let's call it what it is."

City economic developers say the Premier Center's ripple effect was expected to be modest, though, and activity has actually surpassed official projections.

“It’s only been a year since it opened and we’ve already surpassed those projections,” Community Development Director Darrin Smith said.

A 2011 economic impact study predicted building the event center next to the city's arena and convention center would trigger about $6.7 million in other construction. The investment by Badlands Pawn alone is three times the value of the official forecast.

Smith also points to Kum and Go, which invested $1.5 million in a new store at Russell Street and Minnesota Avenue and has plans to build another one at Russell and Louise Avenue. The city expects to announce plans for a hotel and restaurant at the city-owned Elmwood Golf Course worth another $10 million or more.

The economic impact study made clear that the layout and existing industrial uses of the neighborhood would create challenges in attracting new bars, restaurants and hotels to the area, Smith said. That's been true but he also encouraged residents to be patient.

The city chose the event center location after years of public debate that pitted the sports and entertainment district against downtown. The lack of activity around the facility has resurfaced criticism from downtown boosters who say it would have had more impact in the core.

“Nothing has happened in three years,” said Steve Hildebrand, a downtown business owner who opposed the eventual location. “There’s just not going to be a lot of economic development spin off from that location. There just isn’t."

The hospitality and visitors industries want to locate in connected neighborhoods that are accessible by alternative transportation, Hildebrand said. It's increasingly important to be in a pedestrian-friendly environment, something that doesn't exist around the Premier Center, which is flanked by surface parking lots and six-lane thoroughfares.

The city used the promise of more development to sell Brennan on the Badlands Pawn location, he said, but he's been underwhelmed so far.

“I was under the impression that this district was getting ready to blow up – start to grow," Brennan said. “I was being told that a couple big hotels were going up and a couple restaurants … but right now I’m not familiar with any projects going on out there.”

The lack of open land means the transition will take time, Smith said. The city has told property owners in the area that it is interested in playing a role in discussions when they decide to sell or redevelop. As streets are rebuilt in the coming decades, transit and pedestrian amenities will be considered, he said.

Smith predicted it could be decades before the area sees its full potential.

"Meadows on the River is one of the most successful developments in recent history. It was a blank canvas near 41st Street and Louise Avenue and it took more than a decade to fully develop.” Smith said. “I would say we are off to a pretty good start (in the sports and entertainment district.)"

The Premier Center neighborhood is only a small portion of the greater Sports and Entertainment District, which includes the Sanford Sports Complex and all the land in between. Smith said the city is working to develop the entire district, not just the south end near the Premier Center.

An announcement is expected in the next 30 to 60 days to name the hotel and restaurant franchises that will be part of the golf course development.

Smith said the hotel project has been slow to finalize in part because the broker the city is working with, Fairway Suites, has been ultra-selective in choosing partners. Aberdeen-based Quest Development and Construction was brought on earlier this year to build and manage the project.

The city's development plan for the area is a 100-year vision. More hotels, restaurants and facilities are on the horizon.

Meanwhile, the district will get a shot in the arm this week with the opening of Badlands Pawn.